I've Gotta Feeling
by Wafflette
Summary: What did happen, though, was definitely a sight that no one would have believed if they hadn't seen it themselves. Expect the unexpected. Named for the Black Eyed Peas song.
1. The Arrival

_Please note: This is my first FanFiction story EVER. Please review so I know how to get better. I really hope you'll like it!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own POM or characters of POM... you get the idea._

_I do, however, own my own character, Mikey.  
_

* * *

"Hmm…" Skipper and Private were deep in the middle of a game of chess. "Ah ha!" Skipper had moved his queen in for the kill. "Check mate, young Private."

"Aww. Good game Skippa," piped the youngest penguin. "Maybe next time."

"I like your attitude, soldier. That's the kind of attitude that just may be your weakness, but it hasn't hurt you. Yet," said Skipper. It takes a moment for Private to realize he's only kidding. "Oh. Haha. Good one, sir," chuckles Private nervously.

"You know, Kowalski and Rico have been gone a while. Do you think they're okay?" Private asked his leader.

Skipper has no answer, his blue eyes glazed over.

"Skippa?"

Still, he has no answer.

Now Private's concerned. He starts to shake Skipper and yells, "SKIPPA!"

Skipper's back in reality, but has a look of wonder in his eyes. "What is it, man?"

Suddenly, Kowalski and Rico burst through the door, each out of breath. Rico starts. "Uhh! Uhh! Uhhhhh!" Knowing it's something very important, Skipper turns to Kowalski, eyebrow raised. "Care to interpret?"

Kowalski flips through his pages. "It seems we're getting a new member to the HQ. Arrived about 5 minutes ago. Should be in the habitat-"

_SMASH!!_ "Now," Kowalski finished weakly.

"Eggs and bacon, men! Why wasn't this in my morning briefing?" Skipper exclaimed.

"Rico and I just found this out not 10 minutes ago. Sorry Skipper," Kowalski apologized.

"That's alright, Kowalski." He was now on the newcomer. The humans wanted him here, but Skipper had other ideas. "About the other. I'm afraid he's a negative. We can't accept new recruits anytime soon. But first, I want you to go find out what exactly is up there, Kowalski."

"Yes, sir." And with that, Kowalski disappeared out the entrance.

"Now, Private, what was it that you wanted?" asked Skipper in the most innocent tone.

"Umm... it seems that I can't remember. If it's important, I'm sure it'll come back to me," Private replied, a little embarrassed.

******

Meanwhile, outside, Kowalski looks in the open crate. At first he sees a pair of glowing red eyes, and the image haunts him. _The eyes are gone now. It was just your imagination._ He tries to convince him Nonetheless, he slowly waddles inside with his arms stretched out. "It's okay, fella. My name is Kowalski. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to welcome you into our penguin home. All of us here are looking forward to you. Well, our leader's not so crazy about you, but you could be able to change that." He feels a flipper on his. "That's it. Just follow me inside, okay?" He heard the smallest of voices respond, "Okay. Kowalski." Little by little they made their way inside the penguins' home, Kowalski not looking back at the newcomer the whole time.

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_Yes, it's a little short, but it's only the beginning, remember._

_Please review. I'll hopefully post the next chapters soon but only if I get enough good reviews. (And if I can figure out how to work the system.)_


	2. A Little Explanation

_I've gotten good reviews, so here's the next chapter! Thanks for having faith in me!_

_Thanks for your offer, monsy 38, but I figured it out._

* * *

Inside the penguin HQ, Skipper has a surprised look on his face. "Kowalski! I said to get a look at the newcomer, not bring her inside!"

Kowalski looks back in surprise. _Her?_ _A female penguin? She has quite a strong grip for a female peng—_he paused, mid-thought, for he saw those haunting red eyes again. He must have jumped a foot in the air, but the frightened penguin forgot he was still holding on to the newcomer's flipper and was quickly grounded – flat on his face.

"Kowalski! Speak to me! This isn't as bad as the hit from the giant sewer rat, is it?" Skipper asks in concern for his teammate. By this time, everyone is around Kowalski, wondering what on earth could have scared him that badly. The new female is bent down next to Kowalski, eyes wild with possibility and a little bit of insanity. The strangest part was she hadn't let go of him yet.

"I'm f-f-fine, Skipper. Just a little twitch of the muscles, that's all," replied a nervous Kowalski, all the while convincing himself he wasn't afraid of her _or_ her eyes. He wasn't doing a good job of it, but everyone else was fooled.

"Alright, man. Back on your feet, then. Now, about you, my darling," he said to the wild-eyed girl, "My name is Skipper. I'm sure you've met Kowalski, yes? Good. This little one's—"

"I'm Private. It's a pleasure meeting you," Private had cut off Skipper and introduced himself with his usual cheery British voice. They shook flippers as Skipper continued speaking with a little annoyance of being cut off.

"Kowalski! I said back on your feet, man! Anyway, yes, that's Private, and that leaves, last but not least, Rico. Rico doesn't talk much, but he's great with weapons and a great addition to the team." Skipper spoke in a softer tone when had complimented Rico, not wanting to show his soft spot for the team he cares so much for. As Rico took his turn greeting the newcomer, Skipper raised his voice to normal tone and asked the simple question on everyone's mind, especially Kowalski's, who was _still_ on the floor. "What do we have the pleasure of calling you, my dear?"

She then spoke in the softest of voices any of them had ever heard (except Kowalski, since he had heard her speak outside), "My name is Mikey."

"Mikey? As in, the shortened name for Michael?" asked Private in a questioning tone.

"Private! Don't be so rude! _I_ think it's a very lovely name. But I must ask, is it short for anything?" Kowalski had picked himself off of the ground at the sound of Mikey's voice, really getting a look at the new penguin for the first time.

She had (some) of the most perfect features, like her slim body and her perfect height for him. She had (what he thought) the most perfect flippers he'd ever seen! The only things he wasn't so crazy about were her vivid red eyes (he's have to investigate that later) and her ruffled feathers that made her look really crazy. He could live with that, after he'd gotten used to her.

"It's okay, Private. I get that question a lot. Kowalski, you are a very considerate penguin. I like that. As for my name, it's really short for Michelle, but a few events took place back in Antarctica and I decided that Mikey was better." Mikey responded with the cutest smile any of them had seen in a while.

"You're from Antarctica, eh? Is it nice there? What made you move here? Why are—sorry, too many questions, right? Oh, sorry again," Kowalski blabbered on, blushing under his feathers. He tried to cover it up so no one could see, but luckily everyone had turned their attention back to Mikey, eager for the wild-looking penguin's answer.

"You don't have to apologize. I understand. To answer all of your questions, though, yes, I am from Antarctica, it was nice there, but way colder than this. As for why I'm here, it's simple, really. You see—" She was cut off by Marlene, who had just came in.

"Are you guys okay? I heard a noise and saw a box here, so I rushed here. What's going on? A new 'soldier' or something?" She hadn't looked around because the whole time that she's been here, she had her eyes locked on Skipper's.

"Marlene! A little tardy to the party, are we now? Look around once in a while, sister! We have a lovely new penguin, and she was about to tell us why she's here in the first place." Skipper gave Marlene a look that said _good job for being alert, though. I respect that._ "Now, Mikey, as you were saying?"

"Whoa. Hold on. I know I'm a little late, but fill an otter in! Mikey—short for Michelle, I take it?" Marlene questioned, knowing she was right and wanted to see the look on the penguins' faces at her knowledge. Fortunately for her, they all looked at her in shock. All except for Mikey, who looked at her knowingly. "What? A girl knows."

"It's true. We do." Mikey's voice was as soft as ever so the others almost missed it. "Marlene. What a pretty name. We should hang out sometime. It'd be fun." Her tone sounded promising, but Marlene had come across other newcomers like her before, acting all sweet and innocent. Still, Marlene was known to look for the best in people, so she agreed to tonight after the zoo closes.

"Great! Now that the girls are done, we still want to know why you're here in the first place," Skipper's tone was a little harsh, so Mikey looked at him with hurt in her eyes. Skipper thought he saw her eyes turn to blue, but as Mikey started talking they were back to red. Skipper wasn't certainly going to let _that_ go.

"Right. So, back in Antarctica, we had a huge oil spill due to the carelessness of two supposed 'environmentalists'. All of the penguins there were covered in oil. We were all cleaned up, but our home was a wreck. So, we were all sent to zoos across America while they get the place cleaned up. Many of us were separated from our parents. I overheard them talking and they said it may take several months to make our old home safe again. They also said that none of us may never come back." By the time Mikey was done talking, Marlene and Private were close to tears, and the other three didn't look too good, either. Mikey was surprised by the others' responses.

Skipper broke the silence by saying, "Good gravy, Mikey! You've had quite a history, haven't you?" Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.

"I suppose so, but this isn't that bad compared to other things I've been through." Everyone was intrigued at this, but instead of explaining, she simply shook her head and said, "Enough about me. What are all of your stories?" All the while, no one had noticed she and Kowalski were still holding flippers.

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_Could this mean love for Kowalski? I think so!_

_Keep reading!  
_


	3. Getting A Bit Deeper

_I think you will appreciate this chapter!  
_

* * *

By the time everyone was done sharing stories, it was closing time. Since Marlene and Mikey had made plans, they started to leave. As soon as they were out of the penguin habitat, Marlene decided to give her a tour of the zoo.

"Alright, so right here is my home. Feel free to stop by anytime you need to, okay? Right here, we have the lemur habitat. The tallest one, Julien, is "King", his right-hand lemur is Maurice, and the littlest one is Mort. Mort is cute but in an annoying way. You getting all this? Mikey?"

"What? Oh, yeah, home, stop by, lemur, Julien, "King", Maurice, Mort, cute, annoying. Yep, keep going. I'm listening." She wasn't really listening, just to pieces and parts. What she was really thinking about was how hurt Kowalski had looked when she and Marlene left. She was thinking about the slap she had heard on the way out and his response of "Thanks, Skipper." Simply, she was thinking of Kowalski.

Although she hadn't noticed until it was too late, she asked this question to Marlene: "It seems that Kowalski was acting a little strange around me. Did you notice that too—or rather, is that his normal behavior?" She covered her beak as soon as she finished, knowing that was supposed to stay in her head.

Marlene looked a little hurt from being cut off, but then changed her expression just as quickly when she figured out what was going on. "I did notice that. No, it's not his normal behavior, but that's beside the point."

Mikey looked a little surprised, as her head was turned in question and her eyes changed to a dim yellow. "What are you talking about? I don't understand." This tone sounded too rehearsed to be real.

"Come on, Mikey. I can see it in you. Don't play dumb." Then, like announcing a simple fact, she said, "You like Kowalski."

Mikey considered this for a moment. "Yeah. He's a good penguin and I think we could be great frien—" She paused, just then realized what Marlene had meant. Her eyes had changed from a dim yellow to a more vibrant yellow, lighting up the night. She considered this for a moment, while Marlene gave her a look of surprise while she stared at her eyes. "What is it, Marlene?"

"Your—your—your—" Marlene was speechless at what she had just seen. Was it real? Or could it be a figment of her imagination? After a moment more of spluttering, she said one simple word, "Eyes."

With that, Mikey looked worried, as they changed yet again, this time to iceberg blue. "What about them? Are they off-colored or something?" (Haha. A little joke from the author.) As she said this, she tried to look at her own eyes.

"Well, yes! When I first saw you, they were a _vivid red_! After you asked the first question, I answered it and your eyes turned to a _dim yellow_! Just a moment ago, they were _vibrant yellow_! And not to mention they glow! Now, they're _iceberg blue_! Like Skipper's!" When she said those last two words, she knew she gave away something. She'll let Mikey interpret what exactly she meant.

Mikey decided to let what Marlene said go, for now. Instead, she put on a smile and said, "That may be, but what's wrong with them?" She still didn't understand why Marlene was so upset. Back home, everyone knew her eyes changed color. Maybe she had to explain it again. Slowly but surely her eyes changed back to their regular vivid red. "Let's head back. I'll tell you and the others at the penguin HQ."

Marlene was satisfied with that, knowing she'd get an answer soon. While they were heading back, however, she realized something. "You didn't really answer my thought before."

"And exactly what thought was that?" Mikey was surprised with this, her eyes turning to the dim yellow from before.

When Mikey's eyes changed, Marlene knew she wasn't getting that answer soon, but eventually they'd get to it. It's better she asked this question first, getting it out of the way. "Do you like Kowalski?"

"Listen, Marlene, I like you and all, but I think I have to get to know you better before I can trust you. You understand?" replied the oh-so-clever Mikey.

"Alright. I understand. Remember, though, my home is always open to you when you do feel like talking." Marlene was determined to get the answer one way or another, even if it took a week or two.

Once again, she heard the soft voice of Mikey, "Okay."

******

Once again inside the safe penguin HQ, Marlene quickly gathered up all of the penguins, anxious to get the answer to the newcomer's eyes. (Aren't we all, though?) Kowalski was the first to come, asking Mikey questions like 'Are you okay?' and 'How was it?' and 'Did you know you're the most beautiful penguin I've ever seen?' That last question was a mistake, and Kowalski turned as red as her eyes. Mikey turned a little red, too, so at least Kowalski wasn't alone.

"Okay, gang, we're back from our walk around the zoo. Now, miss Mikey here has agreed to tell us about her 'peculiar' eyes, am I right?" Marlene sounded a little _too_ excited to get this information. The team sits down in front of her; an audience forms. Marlene notices Skipper sits a little too close to her, but she doesn't mind. She rests her head on him, but _he_ doesn't mind.

"Yes, Marlene. Calm down. Now I'm sure you're all wondering, 'How did her eyes become red in the first place?' Well, I'll tell you. You see—"

******

(I'm just kidding! I'm sorry. I had to! Here is her explanation:) (P.S. The words in _italic_ she does not say lightly!)

"Okay, I'll start with why my eyes are red in the first place. You see, while I was still in the egg, some _jerks_ took my flock to an animal testing facility. Since we were still in eggs, _they_ decided to inject with this 'stuff'. Just to see _'how it turned out'_. I happened to be injected with strength-enhancement. And it worked." (_That's why she's so strong_, thought Kowalski.) "However, it had a few 'minor' defects. One of these, of course, was abnormally colored eyes. The others included minor Attention Deficit Disorder –ADD- and an insane amount of creativity. You all still with me?" She paused in worry because they all had different looks on their faces.

Skipper had a wild look of wonderment. Marlene and Private, however, had a look of hurt about them. Rico had a look of understanding on his face. Kowalski must have had his mind on something else, because his look said _she is the most beautiful penguin I've ever seen_. All of these looks had a tweak of interest and a longing for her to keep going. Also, because she was worried, her eyes had turned iceberg blue. They were all staring at _that_, too.

"I hope so, 'cause I'm going to keep going. Stop me if I'm going too fast. All right, now my eyes are some shade of blue, right? They'll turn back to red soon enough. Anyway, do you remember that oil spill I told you about? Well, it turns out that, because of those tests, the oil affected us way more than it should have. The oil worked on our defects, which is why my eyes turn colors when my mood changes. Does that clear things up a little bit?" Mikey stopped as suddenly as she had started.

In the middle of dead silence and bit of awkwardness, Kowalski stands up, waddles over to her and says, "Yes. Thank you for sharing that with us." He stands so close to her that she can feel his heat. Surprisingly, neither of them blushes.

"You're quite welcome, but I think it's time we get some rest, am I right?" And with that, story-time was over. Private and Rico stand up; expecting Skipper and Marlene to do the same. When they don't, the four other penguins shrug their shoulders and waddle over to their beds.

"Mikey! I took the liberty of making you a bed for the night. I hope that's okay." Kowalski's tone sounded like more of a question than a statement.

"Of course that's okay, Kowalski. Why wouldn't it be?" They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before she said, "Thank you," in her very-soft voice and kissed him on the side of his face. She waddled over to the bed he had made for her, leaving him dumbstruck. He couldn't think or act. He was shaken back into reality by Private.

"K'walski? Are you okay?" Private asked, worried for his teammate.

"Yes, Private. I'm fine, thank you. Let's go to bed. Good night." Kowalski got one last good look at Mikey before he shut the lights off.

* * *

_I hope you like the long-awaited explanation of her eyes!_

_Thanks for being so supportive!_

_I should repost soon so hang on!_


	4. The First Morning

_Author's note: There are a few song references. Whenever there is, I will put a _Youtube_ link at the end of the chapter so you can hear the song. This is so you don't have to stop reading the chapter and look it up. And so you don't have the hassle of finding it yourself. Happy reading!_

_

* * *

_

The next morning, Kowalski woke up very early, even earlier than Skipper, who usually woke the others up. _Was last night a dream, or did she actually kiss me? _That kiss was the only he was thinking about. He even had a dream about it, imagining it had gone further. When he looked around the room, however, he noticed that something was missing, but he didn't know what. He got up and waddled over to where Mikey was supposed to be sleeping, but she wasn't there. At least the bed was there, but it was neatly made, as if no one had even slept there. Kowalski had been trained to assume the worst, and that's exactly what he did.

_Oh no! What if something happened to her? What if she was stolen? What if she's— _he couldn't bring himself to say it, let alone think it. He couldn't stand to think of how ashamed Skipper would be of him for not looking after her. Being as smart as he is, though, Kowalski quickly regained himself and decided to look for clues. His first thought was to search the bed.

_If the bed is made, then she isn't stolen because she wouldn't have time to make it._ Having no other leads, Kowalski decided to go outside to catch some fresh air and maybe look around a bit for her. To his surprise, though, she was already outside, and she was— dancing? She was, and she was both amazing and graceful.

Mikey was so absorbed in her moves that she didn't even notice Kowalski, not even when she almost twirled right into him. Luckily, Kowalski is as fast as he is smart. She was doing wonderful throughout her performance and perfectly ended with a roundhouse. _Wait, what?_ Yes, he had seen it right. She had perfectly combined dance moves and martial arts moves to create a completely original routine.

"Wow. That was amazing. Great job!" He complimented her while he clapped wildly. "Marvelous! Incredible! Brava!" She was fake surprised, with eyebrows raised, a smile on her face, pointed at herself and bowed towards him as he waddled up to her and hugged her.

She was really surprised by this hug but returned the hug with enthusiasm. They stood there, just hugging each other for a while. They had lost track of time, but eventually (and sadly) let go of each other, sat down and started talking.

"Hey Mikey, why are you up so early? I was worried about you." There. He had asked the question he'd come up to ask her in the first place.

"Oh. Well, for the record, you don't have to worry about me. I'm a strong penguin. But thank you. That's very considerate. I'm a very light sleeper, so I don't get much sleep. It's okay, though. It doesn't affect me for some reason. I've lived with it my whole life." She added the last part because when she said she didn't get much sleep, Kowalski looked surprised.

He has a more relaxed look now. A new question pops into his head. "You know, Skipper and Marlene are gone from the middle of room now. I didn't check his bunk, though. Since you're a light sleeper, would you happen to know what happened to them?"

"Oh. Right. Them. Well, I did get about an hour or two of sleep, but when I woke up, they were still there. I didn't know if they were still awake, but I couldn't leave them there. So, I went over there, I looked into their eyes, and they seemed asleep, but I still don't know. I gently picked them both up, put them both in the empty bunk. Marlene is lying on top of Skipper. What's up with them, anyway? Are they dating or something?" She was still talking in a soft voice, though she had raised the volume the slightest bit.

"You know," replied Kowalski, "I not able to tell you anything about them, except that when I last heard, they were just friends. But that was a while ago." The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Skipper had been going over to Marlene's an awful lot lately. They started acting different towards each other, getting closer and closer each time. Skipper has been a lot happier and gave more free time to the team. And Skipper was extremely good at hiding things from the others. Was it possible he was hiding this too? He'd have to look into that.

Changing the subject, he blurted, "Did you know the Northern Lights are supposed to show this Friday night?" It was Monday morning.

Mikey seemed excited at this, her red eyes turning to a softer ruby-red. "Yeah, I heard about that! I've always wanted to see it. It seems just so romantic." She turns her head to the side while looking at Kowalski, drifting off into her river of thoughts. She sighs, not thinking he felt the same way she did.

Kowalski turns his head the other way while looking at Mikey, thinking about her last sentence. _Romantic? As in _love_? I'm getting closer to her. I'd have to ask someone, maybe Private—no, not Private. I can't let him know. He'd probably tell Skipper. Marlene? Well, I suppose she could be trustworthy. She's a girl as well, so she might have some options for me. Marlene it is, then. First, I should spend some more quality time with Mikey. _And that's exactly what he did.

He broke Mikey out of her thoughts by saying, "Marlene gave you a tour last night, right? Well, you weren't gone for more than 20 minutes, so I'm assuming that you didn't quite see all of the neighbors."

"You're right on, Kowalski. Would you like to take me on a more detailed tour? I think that'd be nice." She smiled at him with that oh-so-cute smile of hers and Kowalski just melted where he was. (Not literally, of course, because we'd lose our Kowalski and that'd be sad. Am I right?)

"Umm… uh… umm… well…" He spluttered. He was breathing heavily and _was it getting hot out here?_ He wanted to say yes so badly, but his brain and his mouth were not connected. _YES!!! YES!!! A MILLION TIMES YES!!! Just say it already!_ He was still stammering, but he managed, "L-l-l-let's g-go." And with that they hopped out of the penguin habitat.

* * *

_**It's Musical Montage Time!**_

_While they have their tour, the song _Strangers Like Me _by _Phil Collins_ from the _Tarzan Soundtrack_ plays. You've all seen a musical montage, right? If not, it's when people do things and music plays in the background._

_Kind of._

_If you have a better explanation of a musical montage, please tell me and I will change it. I will also give credit to you._

They just walk around the zoo, while Kowalski points to animals and describes them. They run around and they're so excited and smiley. You know, the usual happy musical montage-y stuff. The romantic part is that they're holding flippers. If you can imagine it, it's really quite cute.

* * *

Back to reality, sort of. Whatever. Anyway, when they were done with the more "proper" tour, they came back to the penguin HQ.

When they got to the entrance, Mikey sighed, turned to Kowalski and said, "Thank you." She smiled at him again, just for a moment, then, suddenly; he kissed her, full on (in whatever way that penguins kiss.) Surprised, and with eyes turning bright yellow, Mikey stood where she was. Then, when she realized what was going on, she kissed him back, but only for a moment. When she pulled away, they were both blushing, yet smiling at the same time. She broke the silence by saying, "Thanks again," in her soft voice so even he barely heard her. Her eyes turned back to the regular vivid red. He was still dumbstruck when he realized that she had gone inside. Shaking his head back from _that_, he too went inside, totally _not_ regretting what he did.

* * *

Inside their minds:

(_Italic=Kowalski_, Regular=Mikey, **Bold=both**)

**Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They were just focused on what was happening at the moment. **What made Kowalski do that, though? Keep reading.

_(Right before they got to the entrance.) Wow, she's so pretty. I can't believe she's here, with me. I wonder what would happen if I kissed her. Let's see, there's a… 94.7% chance she won't object? Or is it 5.3% chance she won't object? Hey! Mr. Smarty! Stop analyzing things! Analyzing got your friends in trouble before, and there really is no need to do it here. (He heard Skipper's voice: Kowalski! Act on instinct! Forget the clipboard!) He's right! Just do it. It doesn't matter how she reacts! Quick! She's not talking! Do it! AAAHHH!! _(A few moments of silence)_ Think! Think! Think about anything! Wow. That was amazing. Never will I regret that. _(Famous last words!)_ She went inside. Follow her!_

(Right before they got to the entrance.) That was so fun! I had no idea Kowalski was so smart! And his voice! The way he talks is amazing! I'm so sad it's over. As they say, though, all good things must come to end. I can't believe he said yes in the first place. Of course, he is a great penguin. So nice, careful, considerate, smart, funny, and so many other nice things! He's like a rainbow! No, wait; I hate rainbows. So what is he like? I don't know. I'll think about it later. But still, I haven't been this happy since I met…umm…what was his name? I remember that I met him in Denmark, but he still had his down feathers, like I did. Think! 'Nice to meet you, … Skipper!' Of course! How could I forget him! In fact, he looked a lot like the Skipper here. I'll ask Skipper later. For now, focus on Kowalski. Focus on how handsome he is, on how all around amazing he is. *Sigh* She said, "Thank you," and she smiled at him. (A few moments of silence.) Oh… my … goodness. What was that? That was amazing, I can tell you that much! All right, it happened. Just thank him and go inside. Do it! So she said, "Thanks again," in her soft voice because she was secretly still in shock. I think he's still in shock, too. His look just says it all. Now go inside, before he says something else to make this awkward. So inside she goes. He's like no other penguin I've ever met. He's like the best penguin ever. (True that! From the author.) He's like … Kowalski.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the penguin habitat, Private and Rico were still sleeping because their leader had not woke them. Speaking of their leader…

"Hey. Where are Skipper and Marlene?" Kowalski came up behind her, whispering.

"I think I saw them over at Marlene's. It's probably so they didn't wake up the others," Mikey replied with a hint of the same certainty that Skipper always has in his voice. She reminds him of Skipper so much. Maybe they were friends when Kowalski didn't know him and some of his skills rubbed off on her? Ha ha. Stupid Kowalski! The chances of that are … oh, who really cares? As long as he had her, statistics didn't matter! (Oh no, he didn't!) Maybe he should tell her that. Not out of the blue, though. When they talk about "them", he'd tell her. For now, he'll just stand there, behind her, with his arms around her waist, his head on her shoulder, enjoying her absolutely marvelous scent.

* * *

_Okay, so that's the end of that chapter._

_As promised, here are the Youtube links:_

Strangers Like Me_ by _Phil Collins

_This one is for the 'real' video:_

_.com/watch?v=Dr3uvUU4roc_

_This one is for the 'movie' version:_

_.com/watch?v=zc3MnoSS5Hw&feature=related_

_If you don't know what I mean, check out the videos._

_Please, don't forget to R&R!_


	5. Reunited And It Feels So Good

_So here's a new chapter for you to enjoy!_

_Sorry it took so long. I had things to do and places to go._

_With school starting soon I don't think I'll be able to update as often, but don't give up all hope!  
_

* * *

As they were standing there, just enjoying each other's company, Private starts to wake up.

"No, I don't want to pet the badgers! Get away from me! No, no, NO! What? Oh, hello, K'walski. Hello, Mikey. Where's Skipper? He usually gets us up in the morning." By this time Kowalski and Mikey had let go of each other and walked over to Private's bunk.

"Private are you all right? It seems that you had a bad dream about … badgers? Oh well. The people have some weirder phobias. Skipper, on the other hand, we assume is at Marlene's." Mikey had a touch of 'motherly-type' concern for Private in her voice, worried for the young soldier.

"Oh, yeah, it was just a fright. I'm okay. But Marlene's? Why would he be there without us? Is he planning to leave us? Or worse… could he planning to mercilessly beat us with the help of Marlene?" Private's description of that last sentence is so gruesome that I'm not going to tell you what he said. And for a boy his age to be thinking like that? It made Mikey wonder just exactly went on in the Central Park Zoo. It made Kowalski wonder how much time Private was spending with Rico.

Finally, they had all heard enough, except Rico, who had woken up in the middle of Private's description. He was deeply interested in what Private had to say. Weakly and sounding as though they were both going to be sick, Kowalski and Mikey said, "Private!" simultaneously.

"Oh. Sorry guys. I didn't mean to make you want to vomit. S-sorry," Private's apologies were so sad they made your heart almost break. Rico was heartbroken that Private never finished his story.

"No, no, Private, it's okay. Don't be sorry. Just watch what you say, okay?" Mikey began to feel sorry for _him._ "Umm… why don't we… umm…" She had trouble thinking of something for them all to do. Kowalski noticed this and jumped in.

"Umm… breakfast should be here soon. Why don't we go outside and wait for it?" The boys agreed to this idea, seeing as it came from the intellectual penguin and went through the fishbowl hatch, leaving him and Mikey alone.

"So, you guys don't have to hunt for your food? That's so cool." Mikey was blushing just the littlest bit so it looked like pink makeup. There was a bit of awkward silence before they heard a shout of, "SKIPPER! YOU'RE SAFE! YAY!" That was obviously Private's concern for his leader. Maybe a bit too much concern.

"Come on, let's go see what the commotion is about. Then we can get breakfast as well." It was obvious Kowalski was still nervous being around Mikey, despite his efforts of trying to be casual around her. He led the way out of the cozy inside to the warm autumn day. He looked back in time to see the marvelous penguin pass out.

You know how time slows down when something tragic happens? Well, time almost stops here. Immediately, the smile on his face turns upside down as he rushed over to her. He checks for a pulse but finds nothing. He frantically starts CPR on her while the others have absolutely no idea that this is happening.

He notices this, not thinking they were needed. Then he realizes that he needs Rico. So, not knowing what else to say, he shouts, "Rico! Get—over—here—now!" Rico and the others waddle over to see what the commotion is all about and stop suddenly when Kowalski says, "Rico. Defibrillator." Rico regurgitates what Kowalski has asked for and wastes no time putting it to use.

"Clear!" _ZAP!! _Kowalski does CPR and Rico zaps her."Clear!"_ ZAP!! _"Clear!"_ ZAP!! _"Clear!"_ ZAP!!_ By this time, Kowalski is extremely angry, tired, sad, and disappointed at the same time. They all have given up all hope. Skipper says, "We'll hold the ceremony in a few days." Out of anger, Kowalski slams a curled flipper on her chest for the last time. It was the last time, because when he did it, Mikey coughs and starts breathing again. Wide eyes, Skipper softly says, "Never mind, men."

"MIKEY! YOU'RE ALIVE! WOOHOO!" None of them would have guessed there was _that_ much excitement in such a small penguin like Private.

Mikey is woozy from being dead for a while. And from being zapped four times. Still, she sits up, smile on her face and asks the simple question of, "What did I miss?"

Still angry, Kowalski begins to yell at her. "What did you miss?! WHAT DID YOU MISS?!?!? Let's see. You _died,_ but that's not important. What's important is you missed a defibrillator being put to use. But I suppose you couldn't have ever seen that seeing as it was being used on _YOU _because you _DIED!!!!_" Now he's breathing heavily and just wants to be alone for a few minutes to cool down.

Everyone stares at him. Skipper especially gives him the 'death glare.' Mikey speaks first, breaking the silence. "Well, I'm sorry that I was dead for a few minutes. I didn't mean to upset you and you have every reason to be mad at me. S-sorry, Kowalski." She gives him a smile and a look that says _I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!_ Her eyes are a soft, dark shade of blue. She makes her way into the fishbowl entrance; not bothering to take a fish that Alice had thrown for them.

There are a few moments of silence while everyone looks at the hole that Mikey disappeared into. Skipper opens his beak to talk but Kowalski holds up his flipper to him and says, "Don't start with me. I'm not in the mood." With that, he too goes in the opening.

******

Kowalski comes down the hatch to hear… _singing_? Mikey had learned a few songs from a MP3 Player she had stolen from Alice. Alice had eventually found it and took it back. The songs had apparently stuck with her, though. She was singing the song _Sorry_ by _Buckcherry._

Mikey was just standing in the middle of the room, doing nothing but singing and staring at Kowalski's bunk. She had just started, but her voice was so beautiful that Kowalski was too stunned to move and discontinue her singing. When she finished, she whispered, "I'm so sorry, Kowalski." That was when Kowalski decided to waddle in.

"Wow. That was wonderful," was all he could say. Mikey seemed stunned that he was even there in the first place.

"Kowalski!" She laughs nervously. "How uh, how long have you been standing there? 'Cause, um, well—" She was cut off by Kowalski.

"Listen, Mikey, I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was just tired from giving CPR and angry that you were dead. It's not you. Really. So, don't be sorry, be forgiving of me. What do you say?" Kowalski's apology was very promising and sincere. Mikey just couldn't say no.

"Of course I'll forgive you! You're the most amazing penguin I've ever met and I wouldn't want to lose that over some 'fight-thing.'" She hugged him then. Kowalski was just about to do the same thing and thought it was a coincidence. Mikey, on the other hand, knew he was going to hug her because that's what you do after you make up. It's not like she had mind-reading powers or something. (Or does she?) Her eyes are back to that ruby-red color she gets whenever she looks at Kowalski.

Just then, Skipper and his _perfect_ timing came in the room and said, "Kowalski! Stop hugging your _girlfriend_ and get some breakfast before Rico eats it all!" The two stopped hugging and went for the entrance. As Kowalski passed Skipper he whispered, "She's _not_ my girlfriend." Skipper whispered back, "You wish, though." And he walked out, leaving Kowalski drowning in his own thoughts. _How does he know, anyway? It's not like _I_ told anyone. Maybe I'm not as good at hiding things as I think I am._ Breaking him out of his thoughts was Skipper. "Kowalski! I said get up here! I think Rico's about to explode!" With that, Kowalski went to the surface of the habitat to get his breakfast.

******

It was nighttime. Skipper and Mikey were on aerial recon duty. Standing next to the bell at the zoo entrance, they looked out at the city. It was so pretty. It would be prettier if all of the lights were off, all of the cars weren't making any sounds and everyone was asleep. But, you live with what you got. At least Julien and the other lemurs were asleep. That was one of the reasons Skipper chose tonight as _his_ recon night.

A sudden thought came into his head. A thought he had to share with Mikey. "Hey, uh, Mikey?" It was so quiet that Mikey had actually gotten some sleep, but at the sound of Skipper's voice, she woke up. "What? Oh. Right. Yeah, Skipper?"

"Well, it's just that I wanted to ask you a question. Were-uh, were you ever in Denmark in your life? Maybe, uh, when you were very young? 'Cause, well, um… I met this girl in Denmark named Michelle who later changed her name to Mikey, and I was wondering if—"

"Yes, Skipper, I was in Denmark as a child. Yeah, I met a young penguin named Skipper who looked a lot like you. Yeah, my name was still Michelle when we met. Yeah, I've been thinking of him since we were separated. Does that answer your question?" Mikey knew what he had been getting at, and she was awake before she would have asked the same question.

"Yeah it did. But does that mean _we've_ met before? 'Cause Michelle is a pretty common name, you know." Was Skipper actually trying to deny that they've met?

"That may be true, but how many Skippers have you heard of? I mean, besides that one from that show '_Some Dude's' Island._ And how many girl Mikeys have you heard of? I think we have met. To prove it, I'll tell you something really personal that 'Skipper' told me. If it's true for you, then we've known each other for a really long time. Okay?"

Skipper was afraid of what she was going to say because he'd told that Michelle probably about a million extremely personal things that he's never told his team. Reluctantly, though, he agreed.

"All right. So, um… let's see… oh! I got it! Well, it's not something he _told_ me, it's more of something I got to _see_ for myself." Skipper knew where this was going and wanted to stop it so badly, but he _did_ agree.

"Okay, so… this one day, when we had known each other for a while, I… um… sort of… walked in on him wearing… well… a tutu and makeup… dancing and singing." By this time, Mikey was laughing so hard that she was out of breath.

Skipper had managed to block that out of his mind until this very moment and turned redder than a ripe tomato on the sun. He lit up the whole zoo. "Calm down there, Mikey. I'm sure it wasn't that funny." It was obvious that Skipper was completely embarrassed.

"I'm-I'm sorry. Now-now I have to ask." She was talking between breaths, making her hard to understand. "Was that you?"

"Yes it was." Skipper's simple response was enough to get Mikey to stop laughing _and_ get her to look at Skipper in a whole new way. (Dun dun dun!)

"Oh. I can't believe fate brought us back together. Huh. You know, I had the biggest crush on you then. I think it's gone now, though. After all this time, you're still alive. I thought you'd be killed by now, either from doing something ridiculous or by saying the wrong thing. Wow. Now you've got your own team and you're doing very well. No one would have ever guessed." She was referring, of course, to the others they had encountered during their time together.

"Yeah. You'd think so. I thought you'd be dead from pushing yourself too far again. Antarctica? Is that where you went after we separated? How are Charlie and Helen? Are they okay as far as you know?" Charlie and Helen were Mikey's parents.

"Actually, I went around the world and settled in Antarctica, figuring it was the best place. I think I may have met Private, too. When he was still in the egg. I knew his parents well. Charlie and Helen, though, are… passed… on." Mikey was saddened at the thought of her parents' death. Her eyes are the same shade of dark blue as before.

"Hoover dam. I liked them. Only adults who didn't hate _us_. I'm sorry." When he said _us_, he meant the team they had silently formed as kids.

"No, no. It's okay. Strangest thing, though. We were playing hockey one day- the flock- and out of nowhere, this dolphin came onto the land and tipped the little island we'd set aside for hockey. On that side, Helen was goalie, and she ripped through the netting and became dolphin food. She was the only one on that side. The dolphin yelled, 'I'm done, Blowhole!' and instantly I knew what was going on, you know? She got off the island and Blowhole got on the other side. The stupid excuse for a mammal yelled, 'Great job, Michelle!' (And you can see why I changed my name.) The island tipped _that_ way and on that side, Charlie was goalie. He ripped through the netting like Helen did. On his way down, he yelled, 'I love you, honey! Tell Skipper I approve! Good luck!' They were the only victims, of course! The only penguins that meant anything to me (besides you) are gone! But now, I'm here, so it's okay. I just gotta keep my mind off it, that's all. The thing that gets me, though, is what he meant by 'Tell Skipper I approve.' I assume you know what that means?"

Skipper is in tears, trying to hide it, but having no luck. He's closer to Mikey than Kowalski usually is. Without saying anything, he hugged Mikey for the longest time, forgetting all about recon duty.

* * *

_I hoped you like this chapter! It was my favorite to write, so far._

_The aerial recon duty part was a reference to the episode '_Skorca!'_ If you haven't seen it, it's great!_

_Private's phobia to badgers is a reference to the episode _'The Hidden'_. That one is mostly about Kowalski. I love it so much._

_There's another song reference, so here's the link:_

Sorry_ by_ Buckcherry

_.com/watch?v=aEIhtvdU6b0_

_And the _'Some Dude's' Island_ was a reference to _Gilligan's Island._ If you _Google_ it, you'll find it easily._

_A big reference chapter! Don't forget to R&R!  
_


	6. Her First Dance Party

_Sorry it's been a while, but school, you know? I've been sore from tennis practice, too, but you probably just want to read the story. So here's Chapter 6!_

_(This isn't the most exciting chapter, but I've been a little stuck. I promise next chapter will have a little more 'pizazz!' to it.)  
_

* * *

Early that next morning, Skipper and Mikey came back from recon duty with nothing special to report. Slowly and carefully, they made their way into the cozy home.

"So _that's_ what happened to ol' Carl! It seems that therapy was best for him anyway." The two old friends were catching each other up on what happened to the others they had met along the way. They laughed and they chatted over some fish-coffee.

"Oh, Skipper. What happened to us? We used to be so close, and then we were separated. We tried to stay in touch, but that just went up in flames. Literally. Why would fate bring us together now?" Mikey was speaking the question on both of their minds.

Skipper wouldn't answer that question, at least not now, because at that very moment the lemurs burst in.

"Good morning neighbor! Or should I say, Good Night! Ha. I crack myself up. Anyway, now that you are all awake, I invite you—no. I command you to come to the very late-night dance party! And if you say no—but you won't. But if you do, we will move the party here! I must warn you, we are a messy bunch! So come on and shake your flightless, feathered booties with me!" The penguins, all awake now, looked at each other skeptically.

"What could it hurt, Skipper?" asked Kowalski, knowing Skipper would rely on him for an answer. (He also spoke because he wanted to dance with Mikey.)

"Oh, I almost forgot. You must come in pairs. Since there are four of you, that shouldn't—" Julien stopped because Maurice interrupted him.

"Uh, Your Highness, there are five penguins now. When did you guys get a new penguin?"

"Interesting question, Maurice. Kowalski?" Skipper asked the already-analyzing penguin. In no time he had in answer.

"She's been here for one day, fifteen hours—"

"Forty-four minutes, thirty-five seconds and counting," Mikey finished.

"Smart girl," Kowalski complimented. "But that doesn't solve our problem. Why does it have to be pairs? There are three of you."

"Because, silly penguin, I—the king—am throwing the party. Maurice and Mort will be paired together. Duh."

"I _like_ pairs!" (Can you guess who said that?)

"Wait. What about Marlene? Is she going?" Mikey imputed. Immediately, Kowalski knew what she was getting at.

"Yes. I suppose I will ask the otter. But there is only one of her," Julien pointed out.

"Ohhh!" Rico understood as well.

"That may be Julien, but she can go with one of us and then it will be even," Private caught on. Only Skipper hadn't realized what was going on until Private talked, but he wasn't going to admit that.

"Okay. But which of you fish-eating freaks will go with her?" They all gave each other looks for a moment until they laid eyes on Skipper.

"Me? Why me?" Skipper knew inside that he wasn't going to win this argument. _Maybe it won't be that bad,_ he thought. _ It'll be fun. Yeah. Me and Marlene. Marlene and me._ He ran it through his head a few more times before he realized they were waiting for an answer. A new thought popped in his head. "All right, fine. I'll pair with Marlene. As long as Kowalski pairs with _Mikey._" Both Kowalski and Mikey turned red, eyes wide. Her eyes turned only a dim yellow because she knew she secretly wanted it. Kowalski was just trying his hardest not to smile and hug Skipper.

"Then it's settled. Let's go get Marlene and head over—wait, why exactly are we going?" Skipper couldn't believe that he had gotten sucked into this.

"'Cause if we don't, Skipper—" Mikey started.

"They'll have the party here." Kowalski finished. Skipper didn't look convinced. "They'll be here for hours and hours on end, dancing and—" He knew how to convince his leader.

"All right, all right. Come on, boys. Marlene needs a wake-up call." With that, all of the animals went to the snoring otter's habitat.

******

"Why can't any of us play trumpet? Then we could have a real military wake-up call." Skipper was disappointed, until Mikey (who else?) spoke up.

"I can play trumpet, Skipper. It's really not that hard."

"Really? Can you play that neat 'wake-up song'?"

Mikey nods and says, "It's called Reveille."

"Right. Rico, trumpet. Let's see what you got, May May." Everyone gives him a weird look, but he ignores them. "Everyone plug your ears. This is gonna be loud." Mikey plays for only a moment or two before Marlene is up. "Huh. That's nifty."

"AHH! Oh. What are you all doing here? At…" She glances at the clock. "Four in the morning?"

"Marlene," Private said, "Skipper has something to ask you. Ouch!" Skipper slapped him on his beak. Not hard, but enough to get him to stop talking.

"Marlene, um… Ringtail is having a mandatory 'party' and we all have to be in pairs. So, uh… will you come with me?" Skipper had to admit he was nervous. This would be their first public date, although no one but them knew.

"Uh… yeah, sure! That'd be great! Yeah…" She laughs nervously. "Let's go."

******

"All right! Now this is a party, right Maurice?" Julien asked his right-hand lemur.

"Yes, sir! Certainly a partly!" Maurice yelled enthusiastically over the music.

Everyone on the bounce-house/dance floor was having a really great time, even Skipper. They formed a circle and whoever was brave enough danced in it for a while.

King Julien in his party hat and Maurice danced next to each other in it, Mort danced by himself, Rico break danced (he was good, too), then took Private with him. The girls made Skipper and Kowalski dance. Skipper wasn't half bad, but Kowalski was better at times and worse at times. They ladies danced together, then Mikey left and brought on Skipper, who danced with Marlene. Over the deafening music, Marlene yelled, "Your turn!" to Mikey. So, Mikey and Kowalski danced together. Apart, they were pretty great, but together they were phenomenal. At the end of the song, everyone clapped and cheered while the lemurs stopped the music to make an announcement.

"Attention, everyone! Your king, which is me, has kindly decided to tell you why I made you come in pairs. It was for this next song, which the humans seem to love. It's on all the time and is #1 on the charts! I have come to enjoy…" Julien kept talking but Private was whispering to Skipper.

"Uh… Skippa? You know what I just realized? I'm paired with Rico!" He sounded afraid of the psycho penguin.

Skipper was worried about the young penguin but knew he couldn't do anything about it. "Private, if Rico gets out of control, you tell me, okay?"

"O-okay then." Private was still worried but at least he knew Skipper and Kowalski were there for backup. He might even put his trust in Mikey, if the situation called for it.

Julien continued his speech. "You will dance with your partner, and the cutest couple will win! As for the song title, I'm going to be naughty and not tell you. Good luck, contestants!" Everyone objected but got into place anyway as Julien started the song. "Here we go!"

The song starts, and everyone is confused. Until…

"Oh my goodness, Kowalski! I know this song!" Mikey whispers. "It's called _I've Gotta Feeling_ by the _Black Eyed Peas_! Just follow me for a while, okay?"

"Oooo, Mort! We know this song! Just do what we normally do with this song, okay? This is going to be so _easy!_" Maurice whispers to Mort.

*Good luck, Skipper!* Kowalski mouths the words sarcastically to Skipper, who in turn sticks his tongue out at Kowalski.

At the end of the song, everyone turns to face Julien, who is on top the boom box.

"All righty then. The winner is… ME!! I am, indeed, the best!" Everyone started to growl at him, and he backed up right off of the boom box.

"Your king is okay. If I had to choose a second place… it would be… Kee… Kay… Koo… K-K-K… the tall penguin and the new one!" Everyone was surprised and a little angry. "What? I said cutest couple, not dancing competition! Do not blame me if your ears are not working."

"Kowalski! We won!" exclaimed Mikey before she hugged him excitedly. After a moment, she realized what she was doing and let go of him and laughed nervously. "Good job."

"You too," Kowalski complimented. "Come on, let's get outta here before he has another contest." They all left at that note. Mikey and Kowalski were closer than usual.

* * *

_Did you see that? I got the title of the story into the actual story! Woo! Go me!_

_Will Skipper and Mikey have something? Did they have something before? Find out in the upcoming chapters!_

I've Gotta Feeling _by_ Black Eyed Peas:

.com/watch?v=f_2rrxONlLo

_It is a youtube link. It will always be a youtube link unless I say otherwise._

_This video is a little dirty and should not be watched by anyone under the age of like 8 or 9.  
_

_Hope you people tolerated this chapter! Next will still be better, but it may take a while, so patience, my young grasshoppers!_

_Don't forget to R&R!_


	7. The Fight

_People everywhere reading this, I'm so sorry I took so long. It's been, like, a month? Anyways, thanks for sticking with me and everything. Here's a new chapter. There's not much fight, and the next one probably won't, either. One of the upcoming chapters will have in it. Here you go!_

* * *

On the way back from the party, Skipper finds a $10 bill on the ground.

"Well, boys, I'll save this for a rainy day. Or if you've earned it. So start earning AHH!" He yelled because Julien had popped out of nowhere right in front of him.

"Skippa, you always tell us to be prepared, so what was that? You're not a hypocrite, are you?" Private pointed out.

"Of course not, Private. What do you want, Ringtail? We have to get home so make it quick!" Skipper snapped.

"All right then, you testy penguin. I have come to give you a party-ing gift. So here you go and think everything of it." Julien gives Rico a stick of dynamite, Private a butterscotch lollie, Marlene some oysters, Skipper a whistle, and Kowalski some astatine – the rarest element on Earth. They all are excited to get such gifts but don't actually think anything of it.

"Thanks, Ringtail. Team…" Skipper orders.

"Thanks, Julien." They say in unison, with a little enthusiasm.

"No problem, silly animals. Now go home before I change my mind." Julien orders. Everyone practically runs away, except for Kowalski, who decides to stand up for Mikey.

"Hey, Julien! You know you didn't give Mikey anything," he said quite angrily, with more anger than he had intended.

"You know, Kowalski, it's okay. I don't mind, really. He doesn't really know me anyway and it's not like he's going to give away anything that he's got now, so…" she tried to explain.

"No, it's not. Julien, you've got some nerve to give us something and not her. She's just as special as the rest of us, maybe even more. So I would suggest finding something worthwhile to give her… or _else_." He was really angry now, and you could tell because he was steaming and his face was red.

"Oh, yes? Or else _what_?" Julien was testing his luck now.

"Or else _us_. Come on, boys!" Skipper was 100% with Kowalski, because he too thought Mikey should get something like the rest of them. So they start to chase Julien for a while, Mikey and Marlene watching and giggling, until they caught up to him and forced him to give in.

"All right, then, you freaky things. I will give her something, okay? How about… Maurice! What will we give her?" He asked a frightful lemur, because Maurice barely heard the 'what will we give her' part.

"Oh, uh… I don't know… uh… a…" Maurice stammered to find something as he looked around.

"You know," Mikey imputed, "A hug or something would be just fine. Really."

"All right, new one, if that is what you want, that is what you will get. Weird, but whatever." Julien said as he went over, out of breath, to hug Mikey.

"There you –OUCH! Who just kicked your kingliness in the shin?" Julien exclaimed as he jumped up and down, holding his leg.

"Well, I feel better now. Let's go home." Said a more relaxed Mikey as they looked at her in shock. "What?"

"Nothing, dear. Let's go." Skipper broke the silence.

******

That Friday morning, Mikey was up as usual, doing her morning dance. While the rest of the team slept, she watched Marlene walk out of her habitat with the saddest look anyone ever had on her face. Confused, she decided to talk to Marlene.

"Hey, Marlene! What's going on? You seem upset." Mikey eyes were that worried iceberg blue, which made Marlene hurt even more.

"Umm…" Marlene had to choose her words carefully. "We're good friends, right?" (They had been visiting each other twice a day at Marlene's home.)

"Of course. Why?"

"Well, you know how I feel about 'you-know-who', right?"

"Right." *Gasps* "Did you two have a fight or something?"

"Well, uh… yes. We… kind of… broke up."

*Another Gasp* "Are you okay? How do you know? Did you say it? Did he? Why? Tell me everything! But still, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm—well, no! No, I'm not okay! Come on, I'll tell you about it in my home." So they went inside, Mikey first, and she found a note that Marlene had written.

_Dear Penguins,_

_I'm so sorry, but I have to leave now. I hope you can forgive me. I didn't have the heart to see your faces, so I'm saying goodbye through this note. If you want to know what happened to provoke this, ask your 'wonderful' leader._

_With Love, Marlene_

It was short, but most certainly not sweet. There was a tear mark next to the word _leader._ Mikey pretended not to see it. She planned to ask Skipper later, since she knew he didn't know about her and Marlene being friends. Marlene picked up the note, crinkled it and threw it away.

"So, um… did you see that?" She asked politely.

"See what?" Mikey was playing dumb.

"Oh, never mind."

* * *

Meanwhile, back inside of the HQ, Skipper and Kowalski were in a fight because of Skipper's bad mood. Rico had to take Private outside for it.

"OH YEAH? YOU THINK YOU CAN LEAD? WHY DON'T YOU TRY IT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE TEAM FALLS APART? THEN WHO WILL COME TO THE RESCUE? ME! THAT'S WHO!" That was Skipper.

"I NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT ME LEADING! WHERE DID YOU GET THAT IDEA? AND JUST WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I'D BE A BAD LEADER? I THINK I'D BE A DARNED GOOD LEADER IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO YOU! ANYTHING ELSE YOU'RE THINKING?" Kowalski had actually started out in a good mood today but it immediately turned sour when Skipper started talking.

"YEAH, THERE IS! I _THINK_ PRIVATE HAS HAD HIS LIFE RIPPED AWAY FROM HIM BY HIS PARENTS, I _THINK_ RICO COULD HAVE HAD A BETTER LIFE AS WELL BUT _YOU_ HAD TO TAKE HIM AWAY, DIDN'T YOU?" Keep in mind that Rico and Private could still hear them, no matter what the distance is. Mikey and Marlene had stopped talking to listen. And also, the fight isn't really about Private and Rico.

"YOU THINK I _TOOK_ RICO FROM HIS FAMILY? WHEN I FOUND HIM, THEY PRACTICALLY _GAVE_ HIM TO ME! AND I DIDN'T SEE _YOU_ TRYING TO SAVE HIM WHEN THEY TRIED THROWING HIM OFF OF MT. EVEREST! AND ANOTHER THING, PRIVATE WASN'T MY FAULT, EITHER! IF ANYTHING, HE WAS _YOUR_ FAULT! IF YOUR GIRLFRIEND HADN'T OF HAD HIM THEN SENT HIM AWAY, HE'D PROBABLY BE IN A BETTER FAMILY!" Kowalski and Skipper had been with each other since the day after Mikey and Skipper said goodbye, so they had a lot of fuel for this fight. (In one of the chapters before, I told you Mikey met Private's parents. Those were his foster parents.)

"You promised we wouldn't speak of that again." Skipper said softly, obviously hurt. Then in a louder voice, he yelled, "WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT? I CAN'T STAND YOU ANYMORE SO GO MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL ELSEWHERE!!!"

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

"Fine."

"Fine." Seeing this was going nowhere, Kowalski left the base without one more word.

* * *

_At Marlene's…_

"Well, you know all that happened. That's it. You should go find Kowalski now, and… uh… don't tell Skipper I told you, okay?" Marlene knew Skipper didn't want her telling anyone.

"You have my word. I promise. Goodbye Marlene and don't try sneak off on me again!" Mikey said as she left Marlene's home in search of Kowalski.

_If I were a super smart, super angry penguin, where would I go?_ It was a thinker. _Oh, of course_! As suspected, Kowalski was in the electric and water place (in the lemur habitat) of the zoo and there was no human in sight.

"Oh, hey, Kowalski!" Mikey said nervously. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, Michael." Kowalski said, coldly. "Oh, I'm just following Skipper's orders and making myself useful elsewhere. I'm shutting off power and water to the HQ. Did you hear our fight earlier this morning?"

"To be honest, I think your friends in Africa had to wear earplugs. Do you know why he's so upset?"

"No, actually, I haven't got a clue. I've been thinking about it, though, and I have a few theories. First, maybe he's just in an angry mood. Maybe he got a fight with Julien or something. Maybe he's angry with me for something. Maybe he's angry with one of the others, or you. Maybe—"

"Oh, I can't take it anymore!" Mikey exclaimed. Kowalski gave her a look of _what in the world are you talking about?_ "I mean… uh… I highly doubt that's why he's upset. I think—I know—that he and Marlene are… um… well…" She trailed off, leaving Kowalski to fill in the blanks.

"Broken up?" He said knowingly. Mikey nodded. "So, it's not my fault?" She shook her head. "And I should probably turn the electricity and water back on?" Mikey nodded. "I should go and try to apologize to him?" Mikey paused for a moment, trying to think of the outcome if he did. She nodded. "Okay." He went back over to the controls and turned on the power and water to the penguin habitat. "Let's go, then."

They hugged, and the sweet smell of fish cooked to the perfect degree, sensitivity, a dash of depression (whatever those smell like) and a hint of insanity (he's been spending a lot of time with Rico) filled Kowalski's nose and he never wanted to let go. He wanted to find someplace quiet and special and just be with her, forever, or until the moon explodes, and an eternity more.

To both of their disappointments, they stopped and went back to the HQ, both drowned in thoughts. When they actually got back, reality slapped them both in the face like an angry leader. Actually, an angry leader did slap them in the face. Mikey not as hard, of course, but still, it was a slap.

"Hello!?! I'm talking to you two! Listen!" Skipper sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm angry and I'm taking it out on you. Sorry. Kowalski, we shouldn't have yelled. I'm sure we both said some things we didn't mean, right?"

"Right. I'm sorry for taking on such childish behavior. That was, well, childish of us and I'm sorry, too, sir."

"All right then, man." They hugged, sealing the forgiveness between each other. It wasn't long, because they were men and not sissies (Skipper's words).

* * *

_Told you! Anyway, I hope to post soon, but if not, please be patient!_

_Thanks for your reviews but the story's not done yet!  
_


	8. Northern Lights Night

_Here's the long-awaited (at least for me) Northern Lights Night Chapter. It's still not as action-y but I'm getting to it!_

_Thanks for sticking with the story! Here you go!  
_

* * *

That night was the Northern Lights night.

_Marlene was in Skipper's arms, like a girl in a boy's arms at a scary movie, trying not to look but she knows she wants to because the boy's there to protect her._

Seven hours before…

"Kowalski! What kind of push-up is that? A wimpy one, I tell you! Do ten more!"

"But sir! In this temperature – 100.1 degrees Fahrenheit – any one of us may lose consciousness!" On cue, Mikey collapses again, this time from dehydration. (She's been training with them for the whole week.) Neither Skipper nor Kowalski see this.

"I don't want to hear any of your backtalk! Now, are you going to do as I say or are you going to do fifty more?"

"SKIPPA!" "Eeeee! Eeeee!" Private and Rico try to get the attention of their leader, having seen Mikey collapse.

"WHAT IS IT NOW?!?!"

"Well, it's just that—" Private starts.

"Not again!" Kowalski finishes, seeing her on the ground. He rushes over, checking for a pulse—again. To his relief, he finds one, not real strong but not real faint either.

"Kowalski, options!" orders Skipper, forgetting about their fight moments ago.

"Well, sir, it seems she's just been dehydrated. I suggest we get her inside and get ice and water."

"What are we waiting for, then? Commence operation**:** un-dehydration! Go, go, go!" Away they went, Rico and Kowalski getting her inside, then Rico joined Private in getting ice and cold water. Skipper and Kowalski worked on getting her in a comfortable spot. Rico and Private came back quickly with 10 pounds of ice and started to follow Kowalski's orders.

* * *

Three hours later…

"Mike! Mike! Are you awake?" said a worried Kowalski.

"What? Oh, yeah, yeah! I'm fine." Replied the dizzy penguin.

"Great. It's starting to get dark, you know." Hinted Kowalski.

"Yeah. I think I do. Where are the others? I thought I heard them before. Is it cold in here or is it just me?"

"Relax, Mikey. Everyone's at Marlene's. And yes, it's just you being cold. It's because there's about three pounds of ice around you." He said, amused.

"Well then, let's go outside."

"Let's."

(It's going to switch back and forth between [Kowalski and Mikey] and [Skipper and Marlene], so be aware!)

* * *

Outside…

*"Wow. It's so beautiful. Just like you." _Kowalski's so smooth and funny! I really love him. This must be how Marlene felt when her and Skipper were going out. What could I do to make this better? Well..._

At Marlene's…

*"I can't believe I'm spending this night with you. Listen, Marlene, I'm sorry for fighting with you. I didn't mean anything of what I said, honest. I know you're probably angry with me, but just listen to what I'm saying now, and not what I said before. Can you ever in a million years forgive me?" _Oh, of course, Skipper! But how do I say it without really saying it? Oh, right..._

*"Uhh… umm… did you know the Northern Lights… uh… come from the north?" _He's so cute when he's nervous, especially when he tries to state facts while being nervous. He makes me giggle so much._

*"Well… then… I…think…" _Hehe! Works like a charm every time! The same spot on his back that only I know about! I feel so special! How could I make this night any more special? Of course!_

*"Whoa. Did you see that? You're so cuddly." _Whoa. I did see that and I love you... I mean... wait... this is in my head so why am I correcting myself? I'm ruining the moment so just shut up and enjoy it._

*"You are the best, Marlene." _No, you're the best, Skipper._

KABOOM!!

*"Whoa! What in the world was that?" _Whoa! What in the world was that?_

*"What in the name of Mamma's pot pie?" _His sayings are so funny. But what has the nerve to interrupt our date? We were having such a wonderful time, then something that happens and he's all military again and we have to pretend nothing's going on between us in front of his 'boys'. Great._

* * *

(One scenario now. No switching.)

"Kowalski! Analysis!"

"Well, Skipper, there was a huge boom somewhere in the Zoovenir Shop. It was either Rico and Private, since they're no where to be found, or it's—"

"What was that, Skippa?" Private says, worried, as he and Rico run up to the others.

"Well, that rules out the 'Rico and Private' theory, so what was your other?"

"My other theory is that—"

KABOOM!!

"Can I please finish?!?!" Says a frustrated Kowalski. Mikey giggles.

"Yes, Kowalski, finish, and make it quick!"

"I was going to say, I think that—"

KABOOM!!

"Oh, I—give—up! Let's go to the shop!" Another giggle from Mikey and off they went, as Kowalski said, to the Zoovenir Shop.

It was as Kowalski expected. The lemurs were having a party when opossums came in and took them hostage. The booms were for show more than anything else.

"All right, then. You've had your fun, now give us back our annoying lemurs." Skipper tried to stay calm.

"Never! These lemurs look good enough to eat! Oh! Carl! I just game us an idea, eh?" The first opossum said to the other.

"Righto, then! But first we can have ourselves some tasty penguin!" said the one named Carl.

"Not on my watch! Now, I'll give you to the count of three. Zero, now!" says Skipper, but the opossums are ready and the penguins are slammed into each other by a quick kick and punch.

"How did you know?" asks Skipper.

"We're very good at mind reading, eh Johnny?" asked Carl.

"Oh, so true! For instance! That tall lemur with the funny hat is thinking how bad 'Mort' is and how he is a disgrace to his 'kingdom'." Said the one named Johnny.

"It is true! That _is_ what I am thinking! That is amazing! Do it again!" exclaimed Julien, oblivious to what is actually going on.

"Uh… okay… the tall penguin there… yeah, you… you're… uh… I'm getting mixed thoughts. Okay! You're thinking you should tell 'Skipper' that you're sorry you broke the coffee machine. Correct?" That was Carl.

"Wow! He's impress—sorry, Skipper." Kowalski said.

"All right, one more, then… we kill you all and eat the remains!"

"Oh, dear! Why don't you try the girl penguin?" Private suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement while Mikey gave him _the look_.

"Umm… okay… you're… you're thinking… uh… whoa… suddenly I don't feel so good, Johnny." Said Carl while Mikey gave him sort of a concentrated death glare.

"What happened? Let me see!" said Johnny while he tried to read Mikey's thoughts.

"Uh… whoa. There's something messed up about that image. Come on, Carl, let's go before it actually happens!"

"Right behind you, buddy! You haven't seen the last of us!" yelled Carl as he and Johnny ran out of the Zoovenir Shop.

"Well, that was easier than I had imagined! What did you show them, dear?" said Skipper with surprise.

"If you really want to see it, just concentrate hard on my eyes, okay?"

"All righty, then!" Skipper said while everyone but the lemurs (since they were tied up) got in front of Mikey and watched her eyes with curiosity. Their curiosity changed quickly to disgust when they saw those haunting images. Kowalski turned away and took Private with him. Skipper almost looked away but didn't when he saw himself there. Rico was obviously loving it and _Marlene was in Skipper's arms, like a girl in a boy's arms at a scary movie, trying not to look but she knows she wants to because the boy's there to protect her._

"Well then! That was haunting…" said Skipper after it was over.

"Yes, it was, but you wanted to see it. And it was the only scary thing I could think of on the spot. It worked, so you should be happy!" protested Mikey.

"Whatever. Let's go before the Northern Lights end."

* * *

_Not my favorite chapter, but if you like it that's okay with me!_

_If you'd like to see something happen, post a review telling me what you'd like to see! If I like it too, I may use it!_

_You people are the best! *Be aware - I may not be able to post for a while so bear with me!* _R&R!_  
_


	9. The Start Of A War

_So sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. Thanks for bearing with me! Enough gibberish, let's get on with the story!_

* * *

But, as it turns out, they wouldn't get back to the Northern Lights showing. What did happen, though, was definitely a sight that no one would have believed if they hadn't seen it themselves.

It started like this: Everyone was fine. No one was screaming, yelling, in pain or anything like that. It was silent. All of the sudden, a huge _BANG_ was heard all the way in the animal care building. At first, nobody thought anything of it. They all just thought it was Rico in excitement of something. It was then everyone realized that Rico was standing right next to them, so how could he have done that?

"Hurry, boys! To the" (shivers) "vet's office. You can come, too, if you can keep up." When he said this, he obviously meant Marlene and the lemurs. "Rico!" Rico regurgitates a smoke bomb. They left, leaving Marlene and the lemurs in the smoke.

Maurice and Mort are waiting for their king to tell them what to do when Marlene shouts, "After them!" Maurice and Mort look to Julien, waiting for agreement.

"Let us go with what the otter said!" And with that, they raced to the vet's office. The penguins were already there, investigating what went on.

"Kowalski, analysis!" Skipper was into routine again, totally shaking out any thoughts of Marlene.

"Well, sir, from what we know—"

"Kaboom!" Finishes Rico.

"It seems that the vet has turned into a vicious psychopath on a rampage to destroy the city!" They all give him a 'how-in-the-world-did-you-come-up-with-that-theory?' look. "Okay. So, ruling that out, it would seem that… uh-oh."

"Don't give me uh-oh! Give me answers!" Orders Skipper, giving Kowalski a silent count to three to explain himself.

"Well, by the looks of the bomb size, and from the mysterious dolphin-shaped hole in the roof, I conclude that your old nemesis, Dr. Blowhole, has struck here. How he left—of course! He escaped by a helicopter that came and picked him up!" He got a better look this time, a 'good-theory-in-such-a-short-time' look.

"Outstanding work, Kowalski. Now the question is: Where did he go? And: Why?"

"Well, Skipper, if you look at the evidence, which is this note," he holds up a note written by Dr. Blowhole, "it explains everything:"

_My Dear Skipper and company,_

_Long time, no see, am I right? How are you doing? I am fine. I'm sure you're wondering about the explosion. Well, that was just a warning of what is to come. Prepare yourself for the worst and most epic fight of your lives. How did I find you? Easy. I'm sure you've gotten a new penguin by now, yes? And she told you about the oil spill? Good. My henchmen were driving that oil blimp. We kind of had tracking device juice in the oil that spilled all over your new friend. Ha ha! So, now you know. What are we after? You, of course! Just kidding. What we're after will be gone by tomorrow morning, be sure of that. It was good to get this out in the open. Wasn't that fun? I thought it was fun. Ta-ta!_

_Dr. Blowhole_

_P.S. I postponed my plan to blow up the sun just for you!_

_P.P.S. Good Luck! You're going to need it._

Skipper was shocked by the note. By the time everyone had read it, they all had two questions on their minds:

_What is Dr. Blowhole after?_

_Is he trying to make this a joke?_

"All right, men. And lemurs and Marlene. You know what we have to do." There was sense of concern in his voice. "Kowalski, I want you to take… Mikey and do some aerial recon. Private, Marlene… gather up all of the zoo animals and have them gather in Ringtail's habitat. Rico and I will figure out a way to attack Blowhole without him even knowing. Lemurs… stay out of our way. He'd better be prepared for the fight of his life. The war started a few minutes ago, but this battle starts……………now!" With that, everyone did as they were told.

(**0:** shows the different parts of the team)

**0: Private** and **Marlene** were in a frantic hurry. There were a lot of animals in the zoo to gather. The zoo was quite large, and by the time they had only two habitats left, they were both out of breath. The remaining animals had to figure out what was going on. It took a while, but they somehow guessed there was a meeting.

**0: **The **lemurs** silently (surprisingly) watched as their walls were stretched to the limit. Eventually, they started to settle everyone and explain what was going on. As soon as they said the word 'attack', the elephant freaked out and caused everyone else to be frantic. "This could be a while," said Maurice with a sigh.

**0: **It was loud in the HQ while **Skipper **and** Rico** were figuring out a strategy. As the animals went by, Rico and Skipper tried to guess what each animal was. Skipper wasn't one for games, especially during battle plans, but he didn't want Rico (or himself) to have too much stress. Now wasn't a good time. They weren't getting anywhere because every suggestion Rico had, Skipper turned it down because 'Blowhole would expect that from me' or 'it's childish. We need to show no mercy!'

**0:** It was a strange sight from high above the zoo where **Kowalski **and** Mikey **were looking for any signs of Blowhole. Animals were rushing around the zoo like there was no tomorrow. Of course, for something – or someone, that statement could be true. It was watching the odd scene Mikey had this idea, which she spoke out loud: "What if what Blowhole was planning on taking is gone already? What if he already took it, or we just gave it to him?"

Kowalski didn't answer at first. She could practically hear his brain gears at work in his head. The sound soothed her. When he spoke, he said, "You just may be right. I understand if he already took it, like when he was first here. But what would he have wanted that we _just_ _gave_ to him?" He truly, for the first time he could remember, didn't understand.

**0:** Looking around at the chaos, **Maurice** was trying to figure out what Blowhole could possibly want from _this_ zoo. Could he want, not an item, but something else, maybe?

**0:** **Private **and** Marlene** were wondering why the zoo was being so worked up. _The chances of something being stolen from the animals themselves were_… That's it. Don't spend more than two hours alone with Kowalski per day. What could he want? Not possessions, maybe? Something else…

**0:** **Skipper **and** Rico** weren't having much luck on the whole 'attack-Blowhole-he'll-never-see-it-coming' thing. Rico had his mind elsewhere now. _If only we knew what he was after, none of this would be necessary._ As if reading his mind, Skipper said, "This would be necessary no matter what, so pay attention!" But Rico was on a roll with his thoughts, not even listening. _Could it be someone he's after? Or maybe he's just trying to mess with our heads?_

**They all** had the same thought just then, which they all, except Rico, vocalized: "Our sanity and peace throughout the zoo. We have to get to Skipper!" So off went Private and Marlene first, then Maurice. Kowalski and Mikey stayed put because they saw the others take off and realized they all had the same thought.

**0:** When the thought finally dawned on **Skipper**, he was up and getting some coffee. He and Rico were taking 5. He was thinking about the cause, like everyone else, when he was shaken by the elephant running. It was then he looked at Rico and said, "sanity." Rico responded by saying, "Duh!" When everyone reached him, he was surprised they all knew what was going on. He responded, though, by saying, "Why isn't anyone where they're—where's Kowalski and Mikey?"

Private said, "On our way over, I saw them still on top of the clock. It was weird because I would've thought Kowalski wouldn't even make it up there before he figured it out."

"Somehow, I don't think Kowalski would figure it out until someone told him. He's not good with thoughts or feelings and emotions." Skipper thought out loud.

"True, but is Mikey good at any of that stuff? She sure seems like it." Marlene interjected.

"Yeah. Hey, yeah! She is!" Skipper exclaimed. He obviously was thinking something else. "Rico, Private, follow me!" They did as they were told, confused about what was happening.

As Skipper expected, Mikey suddenly heard something. (Skipper wasn't there yet.) "Hey Kowalski, did you hear something?"

Confused by this random question, Kowalski responded, "Uh… no. What are you hearing?"

Concentrating hard, Mikey vocalized what she heard: "Yes, yes, yes! Finally, I'm able to control Skipper and his little friends. He has absolutely no idea I'm right above him" she talks louder "and about to take his precious girlfriend and his smartest team member!"

In her own thoughts now, she said, "Kowalski…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm thinking that maybe we should, uh… run."

"Good thinking." Without a second thought, they started running to the HQ, the most sensible place to hide. They ran right past Skipper, Rico and Private on their way. It's a good thing Private had a sharp eye.

"Kowalski? Hey guys, wait up!" It was enough to get the panicked penguins' attentions.

"Oh! Hello, Private, did you need something?" Kowalski answered in the most innocent tone.

"You're asking us? You were the ones who were running! Why were you running?" Skipper put in.

"Uh… well… um… Mikey?" Kowalski said, putting her on the spot.

"Um… well… you know… Blowhole was… uh… above us and about to take us, so, on instinct, we ran. Seems simple if you think about it, I guess."

"Right, so, Blowhole is _here_? And he's trying to take you?" Skipper clarified.

"One would think so." Confirmed Kowalski.

"So, we should, be on the look out, then?"

"Oh, most definitely."

"Right, boys, you know what to do!"

* * *

_Yay! The end of chapter 9! How was it? Let me know!_

_The deal is still there - if you want to see something, let me know!_

_I may not be able to put anything up for a while - you know, school and such - so be patient!_

_Once again, thanks so much for sticking with it!  
_


	10. Drown In Memories

_Thanks for being so patient! This is a long-awaited chapter. It was fun and easy to write. It may answer a question or two you may have._

* * *

Always so careful, the team kept on the lookout while dropping off Maurice at the lemur's habitat. "You don't know anything." Skipper warned.

******

Morning had come with no suspicious activity. The animals had gone back to their own habitats and slept for a while. The zoo would open soon and they were expecting 3 field trips to come in at the same time. Surely Blowhole wouldn't do anything today. Marlene stayed with the penguins until Alice came around and fed them. Afterwards she came back to spend a little more time with them until the zoo opens.

"Hey guys. How are you holding up?" She asked, even though she already knew. They ignored her, concentrating hard on… something. Marlene couldn't figure it out.

"Guys? Hey, are you okay? Hello? Anyone home?" Then she put 2 and 2 together. They were sleeping with their eyes open. It was impressive—and weird. She decided to wake them up, only because it was an emergency. "HEY!!!!! WAKE UP!!!!!"

"…And that's why penguins never sleep!" Skipper finished his speech he was making. "Great galloping geysers! Marlene? When did you get here?"

"I've been here all night, but I went home to eat, and you guys were asleep! So don't blame me if you're not alert." She snapped.

"Well, sister, in case you didn't notice, we're in the middle of a war! So either contribute or get out!" He said with the same attitude.

"Well then I'll have to just go!"

"Good!"

"Good!"

"Good." Skipper said sadly after she was gone.

"Are you—" Private started but Rico covered his beak. Skipper paced the room, trying to think of anything but that day, but it was no use. The break-up and the bitterness that followed were too much for him.

* * *

"Skipper! Where are you?" *giggles* "I can't find you! Come on out so we can play!" Marlene said playfully.

"I'm right here, my angel! You must find me!" Normally Skipper wasn't this mushy, but Marlene brought it out from deep inside him.

"There you are! I found you! Now let's play! How about a nice game of…" Marlene tried to think, but Skipper was all that entered her mind.

"Of… of Marlene. A game of Marlene." Skipper said smoothly.

"How do you play that?" Marlene asked, totally confused.

"It's simple. Just watch and do as I do." Skipper leaned in and kissed Marlene. All she could do was kiss him back. All of the sudden, she pulled away.

"Skipper, I—I can't." She said.

"Why not, honey?" Skipper asked innocently.

"B-because… I—I have to tell you something. Y—you see, um…" Marlene stuttered.

"Well, spit out, sister!" Skipper said impatiently.

"I know about you and Mikey!" She yelled.

After a moment, Skipper calmly replied, "What about her?"

"I know what you two had in Denmark! Don't play dumb with me!" She grew angry for no reason.

"You picked _now_ to talk about this?"

"Yes, it's been on my mind for a few days. Don't change the subject! What happened there?" Mood-swing Marlene said, first shyly, then with more anger, and finally with sadness.

"What part do you want to know? The beginning? The middle? The end? The date—I mean… The fight—I mean… Our first mission?"

"I'll let that one slide. How about just start through the beginning and go to the end?" She really wanted to know.

"All right. There's not much, I suppose. It all started on a cold winter day when my parents forced me to talk to someone. She was the only one we lived by, so we went over there—my parents knew her parents—and we were introduced. It was pretty awkward at first, but I think the next day was better. She shared what toys she had, and a few days after, we got bored. So we went to her parent's room and found their agent gear. Our dads were secret agents for the PSAAW. (Penguin Secret Agent Association of the World) She entered the code and we took things off the wall and started to play with them. Until we got to the gases. Throwing that on the ground was dangerous, and we could have died. Luckily, our parents came running in before it was too late. We were already passed out and we weren't breathing.

"We were taken to the doctor and revived. When we woke up, we were drilled like crazy. I remember questions like, 'Are you crazy?', 'How did you get in?', 'What were you thinking?', 'Did you even know what that was?', and someone said, 'You'll never be unsupervised again!'. I was still woozy, but I heard the doctor say that we were very lucky."

* * *

"You're children were gone for a moment. I'd suggest rest for a day or two. Remember, this is traumatic for them, so keep the angry questions to a minimum. Anything else you'd like to know?" The doctor asked.

"From you, no. From them, yes. Thanks for your help, doctor." Skipper's mom said.

"All righty, then! How would you two like a… piece of candy?" The doctor suggested.

"Yeah!!!" They said simultaneously. As they each got one, they left the doctor's home.

"So, let's get you home. We would all like to know what happened, but we'll wait until you're feeling better." Mikey's dad explained.

******

"Now that you're feeling better, let's go over to Michelle's house and hear what happened." Skipper's mom said.

Skipper obeyed immediately, not knowing what was about to happen.

Once there, Mikey ran to see Skipper since they didn't see each other for a whole day! When they got settled, the parents got started.

"So let's start with why you were in our room in the first place." Mikey's dad said.

"That's easy. We got bored with my toys, and I knew you had cool stuff!" Mikey said without a second's thought.

"Okay… How did you know the code?"

"'Michelle' isn't that hard of a code." Came the bland reply.

"Really? Okay. So… why didn't you ask to play with our stuff?"

"Because I knew you'd say no."

"So, how did you reach it? The gas was very high."

Skipper answered that one. "We used the other stuff that was there! It was really cool. We had the rope and I was on her shoulders, and once we got it, we couldn't get it open, so we threw it to each other. Then when we got bored, we threw it on the floor to get something else to play with. We didn't know there was any gas in it, honest."

"Sounds pretty sincere to me, what about you?" Skipper's mom said.

"Yeah. They're just kids, anyway. I'm sure they didn't mean it." Mikey's dad replied.

Skipper's dad decided to interject here. "So what now? Do we punish them, or do we let it slide?"

"I think it's only fair they get punished. They didn't have permission to do any of this." Skipper's mom said.

"But they're just kids. They didn't know better." Mikey's dad repeated.

Not wanting to watch and listen to this, Mikey and Skipper left the room without a word. It's all they could think about, though.

"What do you think will happen? Do you think they'll send us away?" Skipper asked.

"What if they forbid us to see each other again? I don't think I could take that." Mikey wondered.

* * *

"That's awful!" Marlene said, cutting off Skipper. "What did happen?"

"That's the bad part. We never got to know what would be decided of us." Skipper said sadly.

* * *

There was an earthquake, or so they thought. What happened was the roof was being torn off. And there, attached to a helicopter, was Dr. Blowhole. Mikey and Skipper ran for cover under her bed.

They heard, "Ha ha! I've finally found you! Come with me!" He grabbed all four penguins and started to leave. Mikey and Skipper came out from under the bed, but Blowhole didn't see them.

"We have to do something!" Mikey yelled over the helicopter.

"Kids!!! Go to the doctor! Tell him what happened!" They barely heard from Skipper's dad. So that's just what they did.

"Really? Wow. I didn't think it'd be that fast." The doctor was foggy-headed for a second, then quickly gathered his thoughts. "Okay, so we have to train you two to fight Blowhole." He got the reaction he expected.

"Fight? Blowhole? When? Where?" They said with a panicked expression.

"Relax. Your parents told me about this day. You'll go to the same school your fathers went to: The School For Training Young Penguins. You'll train there until you're ready, which I'm assuming won't take long, if you've inherited your fathers' skills. Then we'll send you off to fight him. Got it?" He explained.

"Got it!" They didn't know that wouldn't be coming back very soon.

"Good. There's no time to waste; we'll have to get going right now." They gathered their parent's gear since they haven't changed the password. They then made their way over to the school, which took a good day or two. Along the way, the doctor explained that he was Lieutenant Commander for the school, Lt. Commander La Forge. He was also the doctor for the school and would help them if they got hurt.

Once they got passed the tight security, La Forge showed the main office, as to make it look like an office building and not a training school. They took the stairs down to the first level below the surface (it'd be easier to see if they built up). That was the level of the offices of all of the staff. He took them to see the Commander.

"Commander, I've got the two we've been waiting for." He said in a totally freaky and serious voice.

"Excellent. Let them in," said a very polite but disturbing voice. "Ahh. Yes. The children of Charlie and Gregory. What are your names, chicks?" (Gregory is Skipper's dad.)

"Michelle!" "Skipper!" They said happily.

"Right. So, Michelle, Skipper, have you ever had any practice with these weapons you brought with you?" Commander asked with curiosity.

"Yes, sir! We played with them not too long ago!" They responded.

"Really? Okay then. Lt. La Forge, take them to the training area and show them what to do!"

* * *

"Okay! I've heard enough! I don't care about all of that! Just answer me truthfully. Did you ever..." Marlene started.

"Kiss? Date?" Skipper suggested.

"Yeah. Those." Marlene said.

"No and yes. One date. It didn't work out so well, though. It was too awkward." Skipper replied casually.

"Care to tell me what happened?"

"Umm... no. It was painful enough just living through it. Can't you just move on? It's not like anything happened." Skipper insisted.

This made Marlene mad. "Are you telling me to move on? I'm your girlfriend, don't I deserve to know?"

"Your friends with her, just ask her!" Skipper snapped.

"Fine then! But if you can't trust me, this relationship's over!"

"If you don't care about our past, then that's fine with me!"

"There you go again. _Our_ past. Not _my_ past."

"What am I supposed to do? She was there, too!"

"Wow. Just wow."

"What?"

"I can't believe you just turned the conversation back on her!"

"I did not!"

"Yes, you did. It sounds like you care more about her than me!"

"But I don't!"

"Yes, you do. Go home, Skipper."

"Marlene, wait."

She had already made up her mind. "No, Skipper. I think it's time you left."

* * *

Skipper didn't know he was saying this out loud. He didn't notice the shocked looks on his team's faces, or the look of pain on Mikey's. He didn't notice them running up to him. He didn't notice that the whole world was spinning right in front of him. He didn't notice the giant _BOOM_ that shook the whole zoo. He didn't notice the wave of light that came into the HQ. He didn't notice the maniac dolphin laughing. He didn't notice all the screams and shrieks from above. He especially didn't notice Marlene come in to tell them what she had saw. He didn't notice her run up to him. He didn't notice any of this because he was on the ground, shaking like his body couldn't take it anymore.

* * *

_An emotional chapter, I know. Tell me what you think!_

_The 'Lieutenant Commander La Forge' is a reference to Star Trek: The Next Generation TV show - Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge. He's the one with the visor over his eyes. He also is the guy from Reading Rainbow._

_Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!  
_


	11. The Epic Conclusion

_Okay. So I know it's been more than a year and a half since I've uploaded anything! I'm so sorry! It's quite a suspense story now though. Hehehe. This'll wrap it all up and it'll be the end of this story. I'll be putting an author's note afterward, but the main story is done in this chapter. Once again, I'm so sorry for the wait. But enough babbling, here you go! :D_

* * *

With Skipper out, Kowalski quickly stepped into command.

"Okay. Settle down everyone… Calm down… BE QUIET! All right, since Skipper seems to be having a seizure of some sort, there is nothing we can do."

Panic filled the air. "Nothing we can do?" "What are we going to do?" "What's going to happen to Skipper?"

"Let me finish! There is nothing we can do, but Skipper should be okay soon enough. In the meantime, I want all of you who haven't faced Dr. Blowhole as a child to go out and stall for time."

The group did as they were told and cleared out until only a shaking Skipper, a worried Kowalski, and a terrified Mikey were left.

"Kowalski, why aren't you going up there?"

"Well, I figured… Uhhh…"

"You're scared, aren't you?"

"I am not!" Kowalski exclaimed. "How could you accuse me of that?"

Mikey smirked. "I wasn't accusing you of anything. I'm merely suggesting—"

"It doesn't matter anyway. What we need to do is get Skipper on his side and just wait this out." The wait was a while, so Kowalski tried to make some small talk. If you've seen the show, you know how bad Kowalski is at that. "So, the weather's nice, right?"

"Yeah," Mikey said sarcastically. "If you exclude the demonically twisted dolphin in the sky trying to 'dispose' of us, then yes of course."

"No need to be sarcastic at a time like this. I'm only trying to make small talk, but apparently you don't want to participate, so never mind then!" Kowalski looked genuinely hurt.

Mikey now felt bad. "Kowalski, I'm sorry. It's just that it's obviously been a stressful time since I got here. On all of us. And I know that you're just trying to be nice and I'm not making the situation any better, so…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry for overreacting, too. I guess I'm not having too good of a day myself. Since I can't think of anything, is there something you want to talk about with me?"

Mikey sat and thought for a second. "Well, actually, there is. I want to know where… uhhh… where our… umm… relationship stands… with you… you know? What are we? Friends? More than that?"

Now it was Kowalski's turn to think. "Hmmm… I… don't… know, exactly. Well, from the way we've been acting around each other," he said slowly, the words tumbling out, "it would appear that we are romantically involved. We have been showing some signs of affection for each other, but I've also noticed you've been spending quite a lot of time with Skipper, too. It makes me worried that you might not like me romantically," The words kept coming, and before he knew it, he said, "The way I like you."

"Oh." The iceberg blue eyes turned that vivid red again. She was thinking of how to get out what she wanted to say. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. Finally, she spoke. "Kowalski, what Skipper and I have… is… a brother-and-sister friendship. We are so close; it would appear to the untrained eye that we were dating. And I love that about the friendship. But what you and I have… it's different. It's more of a… new couple relationship. It's lovey-dovey and mushy. I love that, too. But I would never date my brother." She smiled and grabbed his flippers, obviously hinting.

Kowalski didn't catch the hint. He stared at her with a confused look on his face. He looked at Skipper, who had stopped shaking. His eyes were wide open now. He'd heard the whole relationship conversation. His iceberg blue eyes were glazed over, and he was obviously lost in thought.

"Skipper? Are you okay?" Kowalski and Mikey gently shook Skipper to bring him back to reality.

"What? Yes, I would like waffles for breakfast… Huh?" He sat up and looked around the room and noticed the sounds coming from outside. "Where is Marlene?" He paused, then continued with, "And everyone else?"

"They're… outside, helping to defend the zoo, and it sounds like they're doing a good job. It became quieter than before." Kowalski had just noticed that the background noise to their talk had gotten quieter. "We should probably check what's going on up there."

"Right. Move out."

They got to the surface, in time to see the tail end of Blowhole's vehicle disappear from the horizon. They looked around the zoo, which was understandably in chaos, and there was no sign of the team or Marlene. Burt the elephant was walking by.

"Excuse me, Burt?" Burt looked down at Kowalski at the sound of his name being called.

"Hey guys. What do you need?"

"Burt, we would like to know if you've seen any of the other penguins or Marlene today and where have you seen them, if you don't mind."

"Sure. As a matter of fact, I see them right now at the Chimps' place. Now if you don't mind, my services are needed elsewhere."

* * *

They made their way to the chimpanzee habitat. The team was in pretty bad shape, but nothing a little bandage work wouldn't fix. Everyone was standing around Marlene, so Skipper got into a fit of panic quickly. Private, however, looked up and saw them before Skipper could do anything.

"Skippa! You're okay! I'm so glad!" Private's face was pretty badly bruised, and it looked like he was in a lot of pain when he hugged Skipper. He still enjoyed the hug.

Skipper was still worried about Marlene, so when Private let go, he made his way over to an open spot to take a look at the damage done.

It was not good. She was in critical condition and unconscious. Blood was everywhere and bones could be seen. Rico loved seeing it, but he knew that it had to be fixed. He was busy being the paramedic and sewing Marlene back together like an old doll a little girl might have. Skipper was silent the whole time, but he was screaming in his head.

When it was finally over, Rico mumbled something in his own language under his breath along the lines of, "Yeah, she'll be just fine." He went to wash off his utensils, only to swallow them up again.

Marlene was still unconscious, but looking a lot better. She had dried blood in her fur and many visible bruises along her body and face. Skipper had to say this: "What happened out here today? How did you do it?"

Everyone took turns explaining the strange and violent incident that had happened. Every question the three penguins could think of got an answer from someone. Animals passing by offered to share what they had went through, and by the end of the day, everyone knew all of the stories that had to be told. The zoo looked less chaotic now. Clean up was almost finished from all of the damage. Good thing it was a Sunday!

* * *

Nightfall was upon the zoo. Marlene had been gently carried back to her habitat and everyone was trying to get some rest. Almost everyone.

The penguin habitat was darker than usual. It was light enough to see, but still dark. Rico and Private had made their way to bed and were fast asleep, both of them wrapped in bandages. The other three were in Kowalski's lab, away from the sleeping two. They were circled around a fire Kowalski had started.

"Okay. So we need to work this out," Kowalski started.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Mikey seems to have it all figured out. Besides, I see our friendship as a brother-sister thing too."

"Oh. You heard that. Glad you agree. All of it?"

"Yes. But, that doesn't matter, because I'm… I'm… in…"

"Skipper, you don't have to say it. We know," Mikey reassured.

"No, I have to prove it to myself. So, I'm… inlovewpoithjsdfangas!" The words came out so quickly that it may as well have been Rico talking.

"We didn't catch that. Try again." Kowalski was pushing it, but Skipper agreed.

"I. Am. In. L-l-love. With. M-M-M-Marlene. There. Happy?"

"Yes." Three startled heads turned towards the door to see Marlene there, having a make-shift cane to support herself. In the dark light, her bruises looked darker, but she seemed to have gotten the blood out of her fur.

"Marlene! How long have you been there? It doesn't matter, I'm so happy you're up and about! I've missed you and I want you to know how sorry I am that we fought and—"

"Skipper, it's okay. I forgive you. I also apologize myself. I shouldn't have overreacted to your friendship with Mikey. It was silly." She sighed dramatically. "So here I am with no one to walk me home. Oh, I'm so brittle I might break trying to get back." She sighed again.

Skipper sighed himself. "Is that a hint? I'll gladly walk you home, Miss Marlene. That is, if you'll let me."

She smiled. "Of course." And off they went, leaving Kowalski and Mikey sitting by the fire.

There was an awkward pause, then Kowalski said, "So, where does that leave us?"

Mikey rolled her eyes and smiled. "I told you before," She moved so close that he could feel her feathers rub against his own, grabbed his flippers, looked romantically into his eyes and quietly said, "I would never date my brother." She kissed him very passionately.

With that, Kowalski finally understood what she meant. He understood all of those sappy love songs the little kids sang as they passed by. He knew what all of those couples at the zoo on dates felt with each other.

He realized what Skipper and Marlene have. What he and Mikey have. True love.

* * *

_There you go! Yay! It's finally done. You're welcome! Of course, it's so sappy and mushy, but you know how it is. I'm glad you stuck with me through all of this and I hope you read the author's note and my other stories! That's all for now! Give me some love? :D_


	12. Author's Note

Author's Note

Okay. So. This will obviously be up faster than my last chapter. Ha ha ha. So anyway, I hoped you enjoy the story. It was really fun and easy to write. This story

gave me something to think about and writing obviously brings out the creativity and imagination in everyone. I guess I figured this would be longer, but I guess

not. Hehehe. Oh well. You didn't really have to read this. It doesn't pertain to the story at all. I feel kinda bad when I say this came to me in a dream. (Curse

you, Stephenie Meyer!) Oh well. That's okay. I forgive myself. Mikey is a cool name, don't ya think? The penguins are so awesome and inspirational for some odd

reason. Skilene is really cute and there are hints of it in the show, so I thought I'd incorporate that into my story. Hmmm… I think that's it.

The End. No More. Go Home. Good Day. I SAID GOOD DAY! Seriously, though. The story is complete.


End file.
